“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of todays terrorist attack in New York City and their families. My Administration will provide its full support to the New York City Police Department, including through a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We offer our thanks to the first responders who stopped the suspect and rendered immediate aid to the victims of this cowardly attack. These brave men and women embody the true American spirit of resilience and courage. I will continue to follow developments closely.” – WH Link

Against the backdrop of the terrorist attack in New York City, a rather deliberate looking President Donald Trump convenes a late night national security meeting:

Immediately following the meeting/briefing, President Trump Tweeted: “I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already extreme vetting program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!” POTUS appears pissed.

Additional reporting on the terrorist:

The New York Post is reporting the driver who plowed into a group of people on Tuesday, killing 8, left behind handwritten notes pledging loyalty to ISIS along with an image of an ISIS flag inside his vehicle.

Sayfullo Saipov, 29, had the notes written in Arabic inside his Home Depot rental truck along with a picture of the ISIS flag, according to law enforcement sources. The handwritten notes indicated that he had pledged allegiance to the terror group, the sources said. (read more)

VIA FOX NEWS – The man suspected of plowing a truck through a crowded bike lane in New York on Tuesday is 29 years old, from Uzbekistan with a green card, Fox News has confirmed.

Police have identified Sayfullo Saipov as the driver of the rented pickup truck who killed eight people and injured at least 11 more in the attack in near the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan.

Saipov drove a rented pickup truck from Home Depot through a crowded bike path for several blocks before finally crashing into a yellow school bus near Chambers and West Street, police said.

After exiting the vehicle, Saipov yelled “Allahu Akbar” and waived around some type of weapon, which authorities believe to be an airsoft gun or a B.B. gun. The suspect was shot twice by police and taken into custody. He remains in the hospital and is expected to survive his wounds.

[…] According to the Associated Press, the suspect is believed to have rented the truck about an hour before the attack.

Authorities discovered that Saipov had a Florida license and he’s been connected to an address in the Tampa area. But he was living in New Jersey as recently as this summer and working as an Uber driver, a friend of Saipov told Fox News. (read more)